The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday, Feb. 5, edition that West Coast Auto Group employs 20 per cent more people today than it did a few years ago. The Globe's Greg Keenan writes that Mercedes-Benz Canada now owns 11 corporate stores compared with 14 in 2000, but the number of employees at those stores has soared to 1,400 from 575. These are just two examples of how employment in the auto sector in Canada has been transformed since the North American free-trade agreement came into force. The number of jobs in manufacturing has declined, while the number of jobs in auto sales, repair and finance has soared. There were 27 million vehicles on the road in Canada last year, compared with about 15 million in the 1990s. DesRosiers Automotive president Dennis DesRosiers says that has spurred much of the job creation at dealerships and companies in what is known as the aftermarket. Aftermarket jobs such as those at Canadian Tire, and independent garages and repair chains, have risen every year since 1994 without a hiccup, even during the recession. Mr. DesRosiers says, "Yes, we would have been better off [keeping the manufacturing] jobs -- but we've ended up net ahead by a significant number of workers."